Community Awareness Grants to help boost registration of organ donation decisions

Community Awareness Grants to help boost registration of organ donation decisions

19-Jun-2017

The Australian Government today awarded $430,000 in Community Awareness Grants to encourage more people to join the Australian Organ Donor Register online and to discuss their donation decision with family and friends.

The Minister for Aged Care and Indigenous Health, Ken Wyatt, said the Community Awareness Grants will support 16 national and local community-based projects aimed at increasing the number of registered organ and tissue donors in Australia.

Ten of the winning projects will have activities during DonateLife Week 2017 (Sunday 30 July – Sunday 6 August) ranging from targeted engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and multicultural audiences through to local sporting and community events.

“During DonateLife Week Australians will be asked to make their decision count by registering to save lives on the Australian Organ Donor Register,” Minister Wyatt said.

“Another six projects will further encourage registration of donation decisions, including a presence at the Commonwealth Games in Brisbane in March 2018 and a suite of Auslan online resources for Australians who are deaf or hard of hearing.”

Minister Wyatt said experience has shown that registration of donation decisions directly influences consent rates, with nine in 10 families agreeing to donation proceeding when their loved one is a registered donor.

“In the first five months of this year, 211 deceased organ donors and their families have generously saved and transformed the lives of 582 people. At any one time, around 1,400 Australians are waiting for a life-saving transplant,” he said.

“In 2016 a record number 1,713 lives were saved through the generosity of 503 deceased organ donors and their families and 267 living donors. More than 9,000 Australian lives were transformed through the gift of eye and tissue donation.”

The Community Awareness Grants are administered by the Organ and Tissue Authority as part of its Community Awareness and Education program. The register can be accessed at donatelife.gov.au.

To view the list of the 16 successful Community Awareness Grants recipients click here.